#LGRW Daily: Red Wings open season-long road trip Wednesday at Tampa Bay

DETROIT -- Roster reinforcements are on the way for the Detroit Red Wings as the team prepares for a two-game road series against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning starting on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Amalie Arena.

Center Robby Fabbri and winger Adam Erne were full participants in the team's practice on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena after being sidelined on the COVID-19 protocol list since Jan. 18. Both are expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Lightning in the first of a season-long six-game, 11-day road trip.
"It was good to have those two guys back," coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think the anticipation of other guys coming back is a positive thing for us. It gives you some energy and some confidence moving forward knowing that more guys are getting inserted back into the lineup."
Winger Sam Gagner and defenseman Jon Merrill are also eligible to return from the COVID-19 protocol list for Wednesday's game, but Blashill said they'd be game-time decisions, as they haven't practiced with the team since entering the protocol.
Blashill also expects forward Filip Zadina to be available for Friday's game against the Lightning after entering the COVID-19 protocol list on Jan. 22.

Detroit will be without forward Tyler Bertuzzi for the next four-to-six games after he exited last Saturday's contest against the Florida Panthers with an upper-body injury. Additionally, goaltender Jonathan Bernier will not be available for Wednesday's game but will travel with the team.
The Red Wings (2-6-2) are looking to snap a six-game winless streak (0-4-2) and collect their first win in Tampa Bay in 14 regular-season games. The Lightning have started the season strong, owning a 5-1-1 record and an undefeated 4-0-0 record at home.
Paramount to the Red Wings' success will be the team's special teams play. Detroit went 0-for-7 on the power play in its two-game series against Florida last weekend, while the Panthers went 4-for-7 with the man advantage.
Both Fabbri and Erne skated with power-play units during Tuesday's practice and their return is expected to give the Red Wings additional depth with the man advantage.
"We've had some good stretches where we were getting a handful of shots on our power plays and being able to set up and make some plays," Fabbri said. "The biggest thing is not forcing things. It's easy to force things when it's not going your way. We just have to stick to what we do in practice."

Fabbri's return comes at an opportune time, as the center has had recent success against Tampa Bay. He scored the game-winner in a shootout, in addition to a goal in regulation, in the last meeting between the two clubs on March 8, 2020 - a 5-4 win for the Red Wings that snapped a 16-game regular season winless streak against the Lightning.
He also tallied Detroit's lone goal in a 2-1 defeat in Tampa Bay in the first meeting between the two team's last season on Dec. 29, 2019.
Tampa Bay is without last season's top-scorer, Nikita Kucherov, for the duration of the regular season with a hip injury. Kucherov recorded 85 points (33-52-85) in 68 regular season games last year and has been especially dangerous against Detroit, tallying 29 points (16-13-29) in 25 games against the Red Wings.
Despite missing one of the league's premier offensive players, Blashill said the defending Stanley Cup champions still have plenty of depth and high-end talent on their roster.
"They have a great team," Blashill said. "That's why they won the Cup and that's why they've been in the Finals in the past number of years. They are a tough challenge. With that all said, we have to go down and play our best hockey and we're going to put ourselves in a position to win. We have to find ways to win."
Wednesday's game is the first of eight meetings between the former Atlantic Division foes. The two teams will square-off again at 7 p.m. on Friday.

SCOUTING THE RED WINGS

• Wednesday's game will mark captain Dylan Larkin's 400th in the Winged Wheel. The center enters the series against Tampa Bay leading the Red Wings with nine points (4-5-9) after posting seven points (2-5-7) in the last seven games. Winger Anthony Mantha is also on a point streak, recording three points (2-1-3) in his last three games.

• The Red Wings continue to be strong from the faceoff dot this season, sitting in eighth among NHL clubs with a 51.9 winning percentage. Center Luke Glendening has been especially efficient, winning 50 of his last 75 faceoffs over the team's previous seven games and owning a 66.2 winning percentage on the year.
• A trio of Red Wings forwards have spent upwards of three seasons with the Lightning: Erne (2016-19, 30 points), Vladislav Namestnikov (2013-18, 123 points) and Valtteri Filppula (2012-16, 171 points).

SCOUTING THE LIGHTNING

• Through the first seven games, defenseman Victor Hedman has tallied eight points (2-6-8), which ranks second on the team and is ninth among NHL defensemen. The 6-foot-6, 229-pound blueliner is also averaging 26:16 minutes per game - fourth-highest in the league.
• Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has started all seven games this season and owns a streak of 33 consecutive starts for the Lightning, dating back to the 2019-20 regular season and including the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoff run. The netminder has a 5-1-1 record with a 2.14 goals-against average and a 0.925 save percentage this season and a perfect 8-0-0 record in his career against Detroit.
• Forward Steven Stamkos tallied a power-play goal in Monday's win over the Nashville Predators, passing Martin St. Louis to become the all-time franchise power-play scoring leader with 301 points (158-143-301). Stamkos is off to a fast start on the season, tallying nine points (4-5-9) to lead the Lightning through the team's first seven games.